


The Look and the Spark

by DarkJediQueen



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Dæmons, First Time, Injury Recovery, M/M, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-15
Updated: 2019-07-15
Packaged: 2020-06-28 16:57:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19816567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkJediQueen/pseuds/DarkJediQueen
Summary: It was firmly believed outside of the BAU that Spencer Reid didn't have a Dæmon. In the over seven years since he'd joined the academy, no one had ever seen it. Aaron Hotchner knew he had one, he'd been around when he heard Spencer talking to her late at night in the bullpen. He never invaded his privacy though and never demanded the answer that all of them wanted, which was what was so bad about her that Reid wanted to hide her.





	The Look and the Spark

**Author's Note:**

> **Year** : Season 5 (Fall 2009)  
>  **Spoilers** : Up Through Season 6  
>  **Notes** : None  
>  **Beta** : Grammarly

Aaron Hotchner had never known pain like he did in that instant. He felt the blade slide into his stomach again and groaned. He didn't let out a whimper or a moan, the only sounds he made were groans that he couldn't hold in. George Foyet was sitting on his legs, the blade was in his hand, and he pulled it out. It was covered in blood, Aaron's blood.

A loud whimper sounded across the room, and Aaron turned his head enough to see Kara bound with rope as far from him as possible. She was wiggling in her bindings and trying to get to him. Aaron had been awake for Foyet manhandling her as he tied her up, and that had been a different kind of pain, someone touching his Dæmon. The blade entirely cleared Aaron's body, and the pain was intense. He was on the edge of passing out, and he knew it. It would only take a few more minutes and another slide of the blade inside of him for darkness to take him.

The sound of nails on the tile of his kitchen had Aaron's head turning that way. It made his entire body hurt, radiating from his stomach, but he didn't care.

"What are you looking at?" Foyet asked. The man reached out and pulled Aaron's face back to look at him. A growl ripped through the air and Foyet looked towards Kara. "Shut it you mutt!"

Before Foyet could get the blade up again, the man jerked on top of Aaron, and then blood sprayed all over Aaron. Behind Foyet was a large creature. Aaron couldn't figure out what it was. It looked like a wolf in some way, like his Kara, but in other ways, it looked like a fox. Its face was covered blood from where it had just ripped Foyet's throat out with its teeth.

The creature moved over towards Kara and Aaron finally let out a whimper. Aaron could not take having Kara killed in front of him while he could do nothing to stop it. It turned to look at him, and instead of going towards Kara, it moved towards Aaron. It licked across Aaron's cheek, and then it was moving towards Kara. A gentle paw ripped open every single binding on Kara and Aaron's dire wolf ran across to him, nuzzling in at his neck before dragging Foyet's body off of him. The creature said nothing as Kara whimpered at Aaron. Aaron reached out and gripped her wet fur. He didn't care about the blood, there was blood all over him and her already.

"Aaron," Kara said as her tongue tried to clean the blood off of Aaron's face.

The clatter of something hitting the floor next to him had Aaron looking at the creature, and he saw that it was his house cordless phone. The animal bumped into Kara and seemingly nuzzled at her neck before disappearing from Aaron's sight.

Aaron blamed it all on the blood loss. He tried to reach out for the phone, but Kara nosed it away from him. She used her claw to dial a number. Aaron couldn't see well enough to see what number she dialed.

"Aaron, you are supposed to be asleep," Dave said as he answered his phone.

"Dave, Aaron's hurt."

"Kara, what's wrong?"

"Foyet attacked him and me, and Aaron's bleeding."

"Where is Foyet?"

"Dead. Ki-I ripped his throat out." Kara lied.

Aaron wondered why Kara hadn't said that another Dæmon in the building had killed Foyet. Aaron needed to figure out who it was and thank them. He tried to stay awake, but the darkness was claiming him.

* * *

Aaron woke up, but he didn't open his eyes. He wasn't sure what he was afraid of, but as he heard the beep of the machines around him, he knew he was safe. He heard breathing around him, and he tried to open his eyes. His body was sluggish with the pain medicine that was coursing through his body.

Kara shifted beside him, and he reached out to pet her.

"He's awake," Dave said, and there was a movement to Aaron's left. Aaron moved his head that way and was successful in opening his eyes. Dave and Prentiss were right there at his side. Prentiss looked worried, and Dave just looked upset. "Aaron, what do you remember?"

"Foyet. He's dead."

"Yes, Kara ripped his throat out."

"Where is everyone else?" Aaron asked. He was shocked that none of the rest of the team was there.

"On a case. We were called in early. Just after I called everyone about you. JJ and Morgan are with the victim's son at school, protecting it and Reid is with the victim. Garcia is at the office working on helping to close the case." Dave turned and looked at Prentiss. "You need to go back to Reid and help him go through the doctor's files."

"But..."

"Go," Aaron and Dave said at the same time. Prentiss looked like she wanted to fight it, but she did as they both said. Prentiss shut the door behind herself, and Dave looked at Aaron as soon as he did.

"Kara has been muttering about someone named Ri. Who is that?"

"I-" Aaron looked down at Kara and saw that she was clean. She had been bathed, and it looked like she was uninjured. "I thought I was hallucinating the Dæmon that killed Foyet, but I wasn’t, was I?"

"No. I will not tell you who it is, though," Kara said.

"She lied to me on the phone," Dave said. He looked at the Dæmon with an almost proud look on his face. "She's never lied before."

"No, she hasn't, and I'm not sure that I like it." Aaron looked at his Dæmon and frowned. She had been the one person in his life that he had always counted on. The one person that would never hurt him. That she was keeping a secret was hard for Aaron to accept.

"Ri will never hurt anyone else unless they are hurting someone else. I promise Aaron." Kara's face was impassive, like Aaron's. It was hard to see her like that, but Aaron knew that it was his fault.

"Is she okay?" Aaron asked. It seemed as if Kara and Ri were friends, of some sort, Aaron wondered how she had made a friend without Aaron knowing, though. Obviously, the Dæmon lived in Aaron's apartment building.

"I've not seen her since she left. She looked fine when she left."

"What was this Ri?" Dave asked.

"I don't know. She looked like a creature out of a fairy tale or a myth. What is she, Kara?"

"She's asked me not to tell." Kara at least looked a little upset at that, but Aaron would allow her to keep that secret if she was asked to not tell him. At least for now.

"Your own Dæmon keeping secrets from you is just..." Dave laughed.

Aaron agreed on that front. Aaron hated secrets, but his own Dæmon keeping them from him was a little hard to swallow.

"At least Kara is honest when she is keeping secrets. What happened after I passed out?" There was something nagging at Aaron's mind that he couldn't put his finger on. He hoped hearing about everything would help him remember what he needed to remember.

"The LEOs and EMTs made it to you before I was able to. I didn't call the team until you were already in the hospital. Then the case came in, and we've been trying to take care of both ends, and none of us got enough sleep. I don't think the kid slept at all."

"Why not?" Aaron frowned because Reid had been asleep on the jet before they had even taken off. The rest of the team had been a little upset that he had been able to fall asleep so quickly. Aaron had not. Reid had confessed to him that after Hankel, he had taught himself how to fully clear his mind so he could at least attempt to go to sleep after those horrors.

"He was upset before I even called him. I never did get out of him what it was. He's worked the case like a demon possessed, which is good because there is a lot of files." Dave took his time going over the case and what they had figured out. How Prentiss had seen Aaron's file and figured out an aspect of the case that allowed them to realize that it was more than just going after the kid. There was a vendetta to it all. Dave's phone tweeted and beeped more than it really should have and his Peacock Dæmon, Max was upset, meaning that Dave was, and he was trying to hide it.

"Dave, what happened?"

"The UnSub went for the doctor. Prentiss was inside in the bathroom when the doctor fled from the house. He was saved but-" Dave stopped and sighed as Morgan and Prentiss entered the room. Aaron could see blood on Morgan's hands.

"He's in the operating room. He demanded to be brought here instead of the hospital in McLean."

Morgan's use of he could only mean Reid, given that the other males on the team were already in the room.

"What happened?" Aaron asked.

"Reid shoved the doctor out of the way and ended up getting shot just above the knee. He tried to talk the UnSub down, but when the man didn't back down, Reid shot him in the gut. Prentiss arrived a second later, after hearing the first gunshot, and helped the UnSub at Reid's assistance. JJ and I arrived a few minutes later, and we rode with Reid here."

Morgan and Prentiss only stayed until visiting hours were over, but Dave had left earlier to work on the case file for the shooting of not only an UnSub but an agent as well. Morgan had kept him up to date on Reid who was seven rooms down the hall as they were both staying on the surgery ward for the time being. Aaron wanted to go and see him, but he knew that he was bed bound.

"All right, Agent Hotchner, how do you feel about a little trip down the hall?" Aaron's nurse Amy asked as she entered the room with another nurse, a male one that Aaron hadn't met yet.

"Why?" Aaron as leery. He didn't like this at all. He had already been given several scans to make sure that the bleeding was all caught.

"Because it was pressed upon me by Agent Jareau that if I had any issues with Agent Reid, that you would be the best bet on getting him to calm down. He's not letting us give him pain medication, not even Tylenol. So, we are moving you both into the same room." Amy looked tired, and Aaron could understand. Aaron would be able to control Reid at least a little bit.

"Let's go." Aaron was happy about it in a way. He didn't like being alone in the room. He had visited with Jack with Haley talking to Dave for the most part so that Aaron had some relative alone time with his son. The two nurses got him into a room where there was a setup for another bed, but Reid wasn't in it yet. Aaron's machines were hooked back into the outlets. "Can you help me sit up?"

"Sure," Amy said.

It was painful to sit up, but once he did, he felt better. His body adjusted to it, and he relaxed back. Reid was wheeled in a few minutes later.

"Why am I-" Reid stopped when he saw Aaron. He looked at Amy and then the male nurse. "I want to be taken back to my room."

"We need the bed, and you two already know each other."

"You want him to bully me into taking pain medication. It won't happen." Reid looked like a stubborn kid at that moment, dressed in the hospital gown and looking tired as hell.

"Reid," Aaron said.

"We are not working; we are in a hospital. I am not going to do as you say." Reid wasn’t being petulant, and Aaron could see a little bit of fear in his eyes.

"As your friend, I wouldn't mind having a friend in the room with me." Aaron really hoped that those words did it. He did not want to fight with Reid on every single little thing that they did, but he would if it meant that he wasn't alone. The room was huge, and there was the curtain that was able to be pulled to block off their parts of the room from each other.

Reid glared at Aaron, and his eyes said that he knew what Aaron was doing and he wasn't happy, but he would submit to it. Reid's bed was hooked up to the outlets, and he watched as those around him moved in and around his bed. Every time that a person touched his IV lines, Reid flinched. There was something more going on with the younger man. Kara whined and pawed at the bed. Aaron wasn't shocked at that. Kara was like him and had a soft spot for the younger man. Kara liked to bump into him and rub against his leg while he was working. There was never skin to skin to contact that made Aaron feel like someone was walking over his grave. He liked that Kara liked someone other than Aaron because she liked few other people in the world.

As soon as the nurses left them alone and shut their door, Kara jumped down onto the floor and then jumped gently up onto Reid's bed. She stretched along his side and laid her head on his hurt leg. She was almost curled around his knee. In that instant, Aaron knew exactly who Ri belonged to. He felt like he was so stupid for not realizing it. Aaron had long ago assumed that Reid's Dæmon was a small bug or a tiny animal. After high school and college, Aaron thought that Reid never showed his Dæmon to anyone.

It never took long for the LEOs on cases to realize that one of the team was a Dæmon short. There were many reasons why someone might not have a Dæmon. Profound abuse had a chance of causing a child to, sort of, absorb their Dæmon into their body. Aaron had assumed that something had happened with Diana Reid when Reid had lived alone with her. Something that had caused Spencer to show his Dæmon into anyone. It was also probably why Reid didn't get intimate with anyone. Ri was an integral part of Spencer Reid and that part he didn't show anyone, except for Aaron's own Dæmon it seemed.

When Reid had been taken to the hospital weeks before with anthrax, his mutterings had been written down by the EMTs. Raikiri had been the only thing that he had said that hadn't made sense to a single person. It had been put down as part of his aphasia. Aaron had assumed it was from a story that Reid had been telling himself. Aaron knew it was a sword that had been wielded by a man in Japanese storytelling and something about an anime/manga, but Aaron had ignored that when looking it up.

It took a few more minutes for them to be alone in the room and even then, Reid didn't look at him.

"Kara, why don't you get down and shut the door?" Aaron asked.

"Don't," Reid said.

"Kara," Aaron said and he glared at Reid.

Reid was kind of trapped, with his leg up in the air in a sling. Usually, he would roll over and ignore anyone in the room, but he couldn't do that.

"Where is Raikiri?" Aaron asked once Kara had the door shut. She spun and stared at him. Aaron really didn’t like his

"Who is Raikiri?" Reid asked, his face was impassive where it had been full of pain before, so Aaron knew that he was forcing that look on his face

"She's someone you talked a lot about. The EMT's wrote down all the words you said, and even Morgan mentioned it after you had been on the mend from anthrax. Then there is Ri, who Kara had told me that she's been told not to tell me who it is. Really, it's not that hard to put those two names together."

"You are too smart for your own good." Reid slumped back into his bed, and in a few seconds, there was a very beautiful creature sitting beside him on the bed. Kara jumped up onto the bed and nuzzled at the other creature. "She's a Raiju. When she's not covered in blood, she's white and blue like she is now."

"She's beautiful and huge," Aaron said.

"Yes, she’s bigger than Kara when she wants to be, but that's not the size she normally is." Reid reached out and ran his hand down her back, and she shrunk down to a size of about a normal fox. Her features were a blend of fox and wolf. Raikiri gently stepped over Reid and jumped down to the floor before jumping up onto Aaron's bed. Aaron braced for pain as the bed moved, but there was none.

"Wow," Aaron said.

"She's learned to not leave any trace of herself anywhere she goes. She had to."

"I can see why. I don't think, besides myself, I have ever seen a creature in a Dæmon."

"They are not as rare as you think, but most are across the world, or they stay hidden like Raikiri. She settled very late for me, and even then, she tried to force herself to change. She tried to become something she wasn't, and I wouldn't allow it. I tried to fit in once, and it didn't go well. So, we learned to hide. She learned to hide." Reid gave her a fond look, and Aaron was focused on him until he felt something on his chest. It didn't hurt. He looked to see that Raikiri was tiny, almost like an action figure.

"The myth goes that Raiju hides in the belly buttons of humans to move around. Raijin, the person who hunts them, would fire arrows at the Human injuring them and making the Raiju run. That's why some slept on their bellies, but it was also held that only those who slept outdoors would have a Raiju slip into their belly button."

Aaron could see Reid with his arms wrapped about him. Every single time that he saw it, Aaron thought that Reid was protecting himself, feeling unsure. Aaron had gone out of his way to make sure that he didn't feel like it a lot, but now Aaron could see that he was probably making sure his shirt didn't move. If Aaron was reading the words right that Raikiri spent a lot of time in Reid's belly button.

Raikiri jumped off of Aaron and grew back to the size of a fox. "This is my preferred size for when I am home. It's good to finally meet you, Aaron Hotchner."

"It's good to meet you, Raikiri. Thank you for saving me. For saving Kara."

"It's what anyone should have done."

"Do you know why no one called in the shot?" Reid asked.

Aaron looked at Reid and frowned. His mind put together the things that were nagging at it. He could only shake his head.

"Yeah, I didn't think so. I asked Prentiss to look into that because she said it was evident that a shot had gone off, given the hole and no silencer has been found as of yet, there was also no evidence that a pillow or anything like that had been used to muffle the sound."

"No, he fired it right in front of me. It hit just a few inches from my head. I didn't flinch, which I think was what he wanted." Aaron looked at Raikiri and frowned for a few seconds before he realized that what he was feeling was coming from Kara. Aaron looked at her to see that she was stretched along Reid's body, including laying her head on his hand that was on the bed. Aaron glared at her, but she just stayed right where she was.

The door opened, and in the blink of an eye, Raikiri was gone. It was a man that Aaron didn't know. Kara was up and on her best defensive posture. The man stopped dead in his tracks. While Kara wasn't as big as some Dæmons, like bears, she had a more gigantic stature than ordinary wolves.

"My name is Doctor Simmons. You must be..." the doctor paused to look at his notes on the clipboard. "Kiri."

"Actually, that's Kara," Reid said. He shifted on the bed a little and moaned in pain for a second. "Kiri won't be seen by you."

Simmons looked down at the papers again and looked at Aaron. "Kara is your Dæmon, yes?"

"Yes. She's quite fond of Reid and is giving him a little bit of comfort."

"Doctor Reid, I know that you don't want pain killers. I would like to discuss the issues surrounding why."

Reid looked at Aaron, and there was pleading in his eyes.

"Doc, how about I press my button when I have discussed it with him. We had just been taking stock of things and hadn't got that far."

Simmons nodded his head, looking at Spencer with a distressed look on his face. He backed out of the room though and shut the door. Kara jumped down to check to make sure that he was gone from hearing distance. She nodded her head.

"I can understand not wanting anything narcotic, Reid but I can't understand not wanting anything at all."

"I don't like taking them as Kiri wants to be around, out and about to help protect me as even small doses make me a little bit weird. I don't want her out here in the hospital."

"Okay, I understand that. Kiri?" Aaron called out, and she appeared like she had been under his pillow. "How about you let Kara, and I protect him. You can hide on him, on me, hell, even on Kara and she can lay on his bed with him. We are in the same room, so anyone who is going to be there hurt us will still have to deal with her. Do you trust Kara to watch over him?"

"Yes."

"Good." Aaron looked at Reid. "Let the doctor give you something strong to help you sleep. I can fall asleep at any second. Let Kara protect us while we sleep."

Reid stared at Aaron for several long minutes before he nodded his head. He leaned back on the bed, moving to where he could sleep and sleep comfortably. Aaron said nothing but pressed the button for the nurse. Simmons came into the room and looked at Reid before stepping over to talk to him. Aaron tried not to listen as they spoke about what Reid wanted and didn't want as far as pain management. Aaron laid back and relaxed, waiting until Simmons had left after coming back with the shot for Reid. When Aaron heard Reid's breathing even out in sleep, he allowed himself to sleep.

* * *

Aaron wasn't sure what he thought he was doing as he looked at the stairs leading up to Reid's apartment. He looked at the stairs and frowned. Aaron had debated taking a cab, but he had been released to drive as long as it was around town and nothing long distance. The getting in and out kind of sucked, but he was getting better and figuring out how to do it with the least amount of pain.

"Can I help you?" a timid voice asked.

Aaron turned to look at the person and gave them a smile to cut the stern look on his face from the pain. He was only three stairs up and deciding that it was a bad idea already. "I was heading up to my co-worker's apartment, but I think that I should maybe call him." Aaron saw that the man was evaluating him. He was an elderly gentleman who, if Aaron was thinking correctly, had been in law enforcement of some kind. Aaron knew he was being judged.

"The young doctor fed?" the man asked.

"Yes, Sir." Aaron started down the steps, taking it slowly.

"Ah, you'd be the boss then. Just recently stabbed six times in the gut."

Aaron nodded his head.

"Doctor Reid isn't in his normal apartment."

"Oh, where is he?"

"Down here." The older man nodded toward the back hallway.

Aaron frowned because that way led to the apartments where the two older couples lived. Aaron knew that well since it was a walk-up type apartment, they had been moved down as people moved out after a new owner had bought the place.

"He moved?"

"No. We moved him. Sheila and Jimmy were moved into a nursing home facility. We couldn't watch over them anymore, and they be safe. So, when the other tenants and I saw Doctor Reid struggling with the stairs, we forced him down here. When he's better, he can move back up into his place. A few of the kids on four get him things from his apartment. He's not happy, but he's safe. Mirabelle does his cooking for him. I can understand you not coming to visit and check on him. Given what happened. He was really worked up about it the night it happened. I was taking a short walk in the early morning when he was leaving and told me. Come on, I'll take you to him."

Aaron followed behind the man at a languid pace, moving too fast hurt. It was terrible because the old man was faster than him. The old man knocked on the door, and he heard a muffled shout of some kind. The old man opened the door. Aaron saw that the apartment was near bare.

Reid was there alone, which Aaron knew was false as Kiri had to be there somewhere, probably hiding on Reid's person. Aaron heard a squeak to see a mouse climb from the old man's pocket to the collar of his shirt. He turned away though to look at Reid. There was an ottoman on by the couch, and Reid had his leg on it. It still seemed pretty swollen, at least from what Aaron could see. Reid was looking at a book and not paying attention. Then Kara came rushing past Aaron and bumped into the side of a stand, and that knocked a book off. Reid looked up then and smiled at Kara.

"Hello, Kara," Reid said. He looked up at Aaron. "Hello, Hotch."

"Hello, Reid."

"Thanks, Greg. I'll be fine."

The old man nodded his head and left. As soon as the door was shut, Aaron felt a body bounce off of his shoulder, but there was no weight to it, and then there was Raikiri the size that Kara was. Aaron reached out with his hand, and she rubbed up into it like a cat. Aaron smiled at her as Kara jumped up onto the couch with Reid. Reid had been in the hospital a little longer than he should have been because of a second surgery that he needed. Aaron had been kept for as long as he needed to be there. He hadn't wanted to leave Reid there, but he had been forced to as he had issues getting around at first. A physical therapist came by to help him get around and to help him slowly build his muscle back up, safely in his chest. To Aaron, it was better than going somewhere and being gawked at. Aaron hated being looked at. Hell, he hated that his doctor looking at them. He hated every single time he looked at himself in the mirror.

"Did I miss a call by you?" Reid asked.

"No. I needed to get out of my apartment. Haley has been bringing Jack by every single night, and we make dinner. I think she's trying to get back together and I just see more and more why I don't want to get back with her."

Reid was looking at Aaron, shocked. Aaron knew that he had never heard Aaron being so open.

"I have been to a therapist, one for my getting better moving around, but I've also been forced to see a shrink. You told me once that you thought I looked happier after Haley left me. I thought you were stupid and insane for that but what exactly did you mean by it?"

Reid looked away from Aaron, and even Kara looked up at Aaron in a little bit of shock. Kiri nudged Aaron over to a chair that would allow him to look directly at Reid.

"You...even before Haley got pregnant, you would call and text her during cases. I thought at first that it was just the way that it was done. No one else was in a relationship, so maybe it was. Then you sent me with the secondary team as my knowledge was needed, and it was just easier to swap an agent for each team. Three of the people on that team were married at the time. One had been married just two months. She did not call and text near a quarter as much as you did. Then Haley got pregnant, and things just got worse. We had a case where we had horrible cell service because one of the towers near the town went out. You called Haley every single night, but it seemed she was upset about that. After Gideon left and you were not texting her near as much, which was when I figured out that she left you. You were...less stressed on cases. You didn't have to obsess over checking your phone and making sure that you were checking in enough to appease her. You said you weren't going to get what you wanted, but I don't think you wanted what you thought you wanted."

"Haley knew that I was falling out of love with her, and it made her want to obsessively check in. Especially those last months before Gideon left when Prentiss joined the team. Haley was jealous of her. I hated her for that. For making me doubt what I was feeling but then I realized in therapy two days ago that I had fallen out of love with Haley and was in love with the idea of what I saw us having more than being in love with her. I love Jack with all of my heart, but if I had been honest with myself years before that, I would have realized that I never should have stayed married to her as long as I did. You were drunk when you told me that I was happier after the divorce. I wanted to push you away because of that, but I didn't."

"I don't think I have ever heard you talk this much when it wasn't a profile or a debate between us."

"And you didn't think that the debates were odd? I don't do that with anyone else."

Reid just shrugged in response to Aaron's question. He wasn't sure exactly what that meant other than Reid was evading. Because as much as Reid wanted things, he hated having things taken away from him. It wasn't hard to profile that. Even if there was supposed to be no inner team profiling. Reid's biggest fear in the world was losing everything that he had, every person that he had. It wasn't hard for Aaron to understand why given his childhood.

"My therapist has made me see some hard truths about myself. About the relationship that I had with Haley. About the relationships that I had with my parents. I want to be the best father to Jack, and that means that I have to be happy in my life, in my work, in everything that I do because otherwise, it's going to breed emotions that I don't want. I don't want my son growing up without knowing that I love him, and I want him to be happy and healthy above all." Aaron looked down at his hand that was laying on Kiri's head. No matter what, anyone who even brushed against Kara made Aaron feel like puking, even Haley. Jack was a different story. Kara had maternal feelings toward him, and it showed in how she played with him and his Dæmon. But Reid had been touching her a lot since they had been shoved into the same room at the hospital. Aaron wasn't sure what was up with that because he had never noticed it before.

The first time had been when Reid had been reading a book that JJ had brought him. His hand had been rubbing at Kara's nape, and Aaron hadn't noticed it until after he had woken up from the nap it had put him into. Reid had fallen asleep as well the lure of his pain killers more than anything else. Reid's hand had been buried in Kara's fur when Aaron had seen them. Aaron had reached out then and touched Kiri only to find that Reid didn't react at all.

"Why?" Reid asked, his voice sounding choked.

Aaron shook his leg to have Kiri move off of where she was leaning against it. Aaron stood up when she was enough of a distance away. He walked over and stood above Reid before crouching down. He made himself as close to eye level as he could without hurting his stomach and pulling stitches. He still had a few in a couple of spots, but for the most part, he was well on the mend. He didn’t want to pull a stitch, so he braced himself on one arm on the couch. He tried to reach out with his other hand, but Kiri growled behind him. Kara got up and bumped her head into Aaron's hand to distract Aaron from what he was trying to do. Aaron didn't let himself be deterred though, he got as close as he could and cupped the side of Reid's face. He tipped that face up and placed a kiss on his lips. Aaron felt Reid's body stiffen in surprise before he reached out and gripped the front of Aaron's shirt. He didn't pull Aaron forward, he just held on.

"Because you have been right there, on the sidelines watching, caring, waiting. Never pushing. You love me or like me or something just for who I am. Just for being me. Kara and Raikiri know it. I didn't put much thought into it while we were in the hospital together, but they cuddle. Finn never did that with Kara. Finn disliked me, and I just thought it was because before I came along, Finn was the only person in Haley's life that she was truly close to. She is not close to her sister at all." Aaron leaned in again, just that little bit more and kissed Reid again.

"Please, don't," Reid begged as Aaron pulled away again.

"Why?"

"I love you. Don't think that I don't, but I am happy and content enough with your friendship. You are in the middle of a horrible recovery. You feel violated, and as much as you want to brush off, Foyet raped you with that blade, Hotch. I can't start anything that's more than friendship and lose it. I don't think I could survive that. Just...give its time. Get cleared for work, get better. I'll be here as your friend for as long as it takes for you to know your mind, your true mind on it all."

"I understand." Aaron did understand, but it didn't hurt any less. Something that would make him happy was right there. Right in front of him and it was slipping away.

"No, you don't. You are just trying to make me happy. It hurts that I've turned you down and you will get over it. You'll talk to your therapist, and you'll get on better footing. I can't lose what I already have, Hotch. I've lost enough in my life, and I can't have you freak out and make yourself think that you want something that is safe and normal."

Aaron pressed his lips to Reid's forehead, letting them sit there for several minutes before he pulled away. His body was stiff from the position that he was in. Kara whined a little and pushed into Reid's body, rubbing against him.

"I'll be right here," Reid said as he cupped the sides of Kara's face and kissed the tip of her nose. Kiri was right there at Aaron's side, rubbing against him. He reached down and petted her head. There was always that little charge of electricity on her body.

Aaron hated that he knew that Reid would not give in if pushed. He had to walk away as fast as he could, Kara at his side, hating that she understood as well. Aaron could feel her; how upset she was. There was nothing that he could do at all. Nothing could be done. He would have to do as Reid said and get better. Get back to normal, whatever normal that would be in the wake of what happened to him.

"We will do it, Kara," Aaron said as he settled into the seat of his car and pressed the button to move the seat back into the position that he liked. He had learned the hard way that getting in and out without moving the seat hurt a lot.

"Should we go see her?" Kara asked as she settled into the backseat stretched across it.

"I think maybe we should. She said we could. Even if we have to wait a little bit."

"Good." Kara laid down and whimpered a little, a remnant of the pain in Aaron, the physical and the emotional.

Aaron over at the window that he was pretty sure was in the apartment that Reid was in and he saw him standing there, Kiri at his side. He looked as wrecked as Aaron felt, and it was the only comfort that Aaron had. Not that Reid was in pain but just that Reid was doing this for their own good. He was hurting himself at the same time he was hurting Aaron.

* * *

Aaron stopped and leaned against the tree that was his resting point for each mile that he ran, Kara dropped dramatically down onto the ground beside him. The laughter that bubbled up out of Kara was refreshing. Aaron felt better than he had in years. He grabbed his water from the bag that he had at the base of the tree and drank half of the bottle before he put it back and grabbed the towel that was over the bag. He looked around the park. It was quiet, but then it usually was. The only activity was around the chess tables. That was strange, but Aaron was too focused on what he was doing. He needed to work on getting back into his marathon fitness as there was one coming up that he wanted to do. He finished drying off before he emptied the second half of the bottle of water. He settled the bottle down into the bag to be reused and then started off again.

After his seventh mile, Aaron stopped. It wasn't bad. Six months post stabbing, and he was back mostly to where he had been before. He had a little trouble swimming, but it wasn't a triathlon, Aaron wasn't that worried about swimming just yet. He had to work on building his muscles in his stomach again before he could do that. He had time. There were exercises that Aaron did every day at home and could be done in the office and during cases to help him build his trunk muscles again.

Aaron had been cleared to return to work the next day, he wasn't sure that he was ready, but his doctor, his therapist, and even the family therapist that he had made him, and Haley go to, had agreed he was ready. The family therapist was so that they could be that to Jack, a family even though they were divorced, and Aaron had no plans on ever getting back together with Haley again. Aaron had missed work a great deal. He had missed having something to do every single day, right up until he had decided to move out of his apartment and into a house. The apartment had been a place he didn't like to be anymore, even without the violation of Foyet trying to kill him there. So, Aaron had found a house near a lovely park that he would love to run in and had spent the past four months getting it where he wanted it. There was a lot of room, almost too much that was empty at the moment, but Aaron had plans for those areas. He just had to wait to see what happened with Spencer first. Aaron hoped that Spencer's mind had not changed at all during the six months. They texted back and forth about their recovery and therapy and everything but personal emotions.

After Spencer had been mobile again, he and Aaron would get lunch on occasion, but it was still decidedly not personal, more like friends getting a meal together. Aaron tried not to read into that too much, but he understood why Spencer was keeping him at arm's length. Aaron was one of the closest friends that he had, and losing that to a fumble in bed that would go nowhere was not good.

Aaron found it strange to move into a house with the want of a future lover, but he wanted to show Spencer that he was ready to start something that he hoped would last. The months talking everything out with his therapist had made Aaron just want it more, not less. There was obviously a room for Jack to sleep in and it was pretty big so that there could be room for a desk for schoolwork as he got older as well as a chair and plenty of bookshelves. Aaron had bought those with his future in mind as well. There were shelves that Jack couldn't reach, but that could be used for decorations and things that were not toys or books. Jack loved the house, he loved having a huge backyard. Aaron had seen Jack more in the last six months, and he was glad of it. Haley and Aaron had already discussed what they were going to do as far as visitation when Aaron started back to work. Aaron would get Jack as much as possible when he was home, including Jack going into Aaron's office to hang out for a few hours on Wednesdays.

Haley was working, which was something that the therapist had recommended. Jack was in pre-school so she could take a job that allowed her to work those hours. The concession was that she would have to work Wednesday evenings at the library as everyone on staff had a closing shift that they worked. So, if Aaron were on a case, Jack would go with his aunt, Jessica. It worked out well as Jessica got time with her nephew and Haley got a kid free night. If Jack stayed with Aaron, he would stay the night and Aaron would take him to school the next day, Jessica would do the same. It was working well at the moment, Aaron just hoped it continued when Aaron went back to work.

Cheers went up over at the chess area, so Aaron grabbed his bag and zipped it up, grabbing his last bottle of water before he did. He slung the bag over his shoulder and then started toward where the crowd had grown by nearly double while he had been running. Kara rushed after him, playing as she did. Aaron found that the crowd was all spread around a single table, watching as a pair played each other. Aaron watched as Dæmons played with each other while their Humans watched. Aaron heard the snap of the timer before the clink of a chess piece and the slap again. He waited for an opening to see who was playing and how well they were doing.

The chess board told him one thing. That whoever was playing was damned good, but one was a hell of a lot better. Aaron could see that the opponent was near losing. At least four moves if he was guessing right. He watched as four moves were made, and then a voice said "checkmate." That voice, Aaron knew. This was the perfect opportunity.

There was a lot of chatter after that, and the opponent stood up to leave after he had gathered his chess pieces to take with him.

"Anyone else?" Spencer asked as he looked around.

No one stepped up. Aaron waited a few seconds as Spencer got the board set up again and he sat down. He gave Spencer a smile.

"I'll play you," Aaron said.

"Really?" Spencer asked, but he started to set up the other half of the board with the second set of chess pieces.

"Yes, on a single condition." Aaron saw Spencer glance up at him with a very hesitant look on his face. Aaron gave him a smile to try and help settle him down.

"And what is that?" Spencer asked.

"Win or lose you go on a date with me. If I win, I pick where. If you win, you pick where."

"Doesn't seem like that's much of a win for me. I mean a date with you. How do I benefit from that?" Spencer was giving him that coy smile that had been showing up on their little friend dates when Aaron tried to turn things personal.

"I'm a really good date," Aaron said.

Spencer laughed, and after a few seconds, Kara came around, laying her head on Spencer's knee. Aaron felt something start to climb his pants leg and then wiggle under his shirt to climb to his neck. He felt Kiri as she laid over his neck. Spencer's hand buried itself into Kara's fur, and it felt damned good. Aaron felt his whole body responding to hit. He reached up to pet at Kiri's head, and he heard the gasp of several people at finally noticing her. Even though everyone around them would think that Kiri was Aaron's considering she was on Aaron's neck, just her being visible in public was a really big thing. Spencer and Kiri trusted that Aaron would never let anything happen to them. They believed that they were safe with Aaron.

"Fine," Spencer said as he turned the board around to give Aaron first move. It was silent as they played, Spencer and Aaron saying nothing but the crowd around them said nothing as well. Aaron had never played against Spencer before, and he was kind of upset at himself. Aaron had left that for Gideon and Spencer to do, but now he was kicking himself in the ass. His mind had never been more challenged, even when he got into debates with Spencer. It was wonderful. Time passed like it was skipping minutes instead of nearly two hours passing.

Aaron made his final move because he knew that Spencer was going to checkmate him in his next. Spencer gave Aaron a wicked little smile before he made his move. Aaron tipped his queen over and nodded his defeat to Spencer.

"I guess you had better get home, showered, and dressed before you take me out. I don't go on dates with sweaty men." That coy look was back on his face, but his eyes were all heat.

Sensing that their entertainment was leaving, the crowd started to disappear as Spencer packed up both sets of chess pieces. The board was etched into the stone and had been painted black. It looked recent like it had been refreshed. A few with comments to Spencer, including a young man who talked to Spencer for three minutes about coming back again soon as he missed him. Spencer had given the boy a fond look before the boy had left.

"You didn't drive here, I know that. You are not cleared to drive just yet."

"No, I took the bus. I've gotten good at going on the bus even with the crutches and no cane." His eyes darted to where the cane was leaning against the tabletop. Aaron stood up and walked around the table, Kiri seemed to be asleep around his shoulders while Kara was curled up at Spencer's side, a leg hooked around Spencer's good ankle. Aaron grabbed Spencer's cane and handed it over. He picked up the box that held the chess set and offered an arm to Spencer. He used that arm to stand up and get settled, but then he shocked Aaron by slipping his arm through Aaron's. "I guess this is you offering me a ride to your place while you get ready?"

"I was going to offer to drop you off at your apartment to get ready, but if you want to come back to mine while I get ready, I am not going to say no." Aaron looked at Spencer, and he was in a long sleeved shirt and vest with a suit jacket over the top, he was still a little overdressed for the warm October they were having. Aaron was feeling the slight chill, but then he was in a running shirt with no sleeve and a pair of mid-thighs running shorts, both of which were very thin.

"Good. It will make it so we can go on a date quicker. I find that I am impatient now that it's finally that close." Spencer's hand was wrapped around Aaron's elbow, and while he wasn't needed to support Spencer, Aaron felt like Spencer was doing it for emotional support more than anything else.

The drive from the park to the house was short. No one outside of Haley, Jessica, and Jack had been at the house since he had moved in. Aaron felt a little weird having Spencer there before they even went on a date, but Aaron pushed that away to get ready to head to the shower. He dropped his bag off in the kitchen so he could refill the bottles with water for his next run and throw the towels he used to wipe the sweat off into the laundry room which was off the kitchen.

"Help yourself to anything to drink or snack on in the fridge. I'll be as quick as I can be. Wander around or sit, I don't know how much you have been on your leg today." Aaron looked down at the leg that was still in a soft-shell brace.

"I have not been on it that much. I've been cleared to go back to work. I had the paperwork sent to Rossi. Full clearance as long as I don't go into dangerous situations so Morgan will have to run after the UnSubs for now."

Aaron laughed at the joke as he turned to leave. Spencer's hand shot out and grabbed Aaron, pulling him close. It was very evident what Spencer wanted, but Aaron wasn't sure it was a good idea. He would want more than what Spencer was offering. His dreams and his hands had been his solace these last months and nearly every single friend date they had ended in Aaron in the shower jerking off.

"Spencer," Aaron warned as Spencer got close to kiss him.

"Aaron," Spencer said, and the tone was full of want, passion, lust, love, so many fucking emotions that Aaron didn't even try and stop Spencer when he covered Aaron's mouth with his own. Aaron buried his fingers into Spencer's hair and tipped Spencer's head to the side just enough that Aaron could get the access to Spencer's mouth that he wanted.

Aaron wasn't sure who started the movement to the stairs, but he knew that he made sure that Spencer took them slowly as Spencer's hands were all over Aaron's body and there was no cane in his hand. Aaron pressed Spencer into the wall at the top of the stairs, bumping a picture that was hanging there. It didn't fall which was good, but Aaron didn't really care either way as Spencer thrust into Aaron, their hard cocks rubbing on each other.

The click of metal permeated Aaron's mind as he tried to get them moving again only to find that Spencer was working his pants open. Aaron dropped his hands to help him. He felt Spencer's cock through his underwear as he pushed the pants down to where he could get access to Spencer's cock.

"I'm going to drop to my knees and suck you off," Aaron said as he let go of Spencer's pants to grab his hands. He pressed those hands up into the wall, kissing Spencer hard. Aaron fucked Spencer's mouth with his tongue, teasing at tongue and roof of his mouth.

"I'm clean," Spencer was finally able to say when Aaron separated their mouths.

"Yeah?" Aaron pulled back to look Spencer in the eye. It wasn't precisely what Aaron thought he was going to say. Aaron trusted that Spencer was clean, that he wouldn't risk Aaron like that.

"The doctor when he was trying to help me. He came back to me after he had tried to help the doctor and the paramedics. He came over and stanched my blood flow and had blood on his hands from the UnSub. I made sure I was tested of anything and everything that could be transmitted through blood. The guy had not cared about his own life for a while. I wanted to be sure, and I've not had contact, risky or otherwise with anyone since then."

"I'm glad you've not kissed anyone."

"It's been you for a long time, Aaron. I just..." Spencer swallowed thickly. "I never thought I would get you."

"It took me a while. It took me a while to see that everything that I wanted was right in front of me. Not everyone can be like Will or Garrett's wife. I just never thought that I would meet someone like you in my life." Aaron didn't want to get sappy at the moment. He wanted to make Spencer feel. He wanted to make him lose control. Aaron dropped to his knees, keeping Spencer's hands pressed to the wall as he slid down his body. Aaron licked at the head of the cock in front of him. It had been a long time since he had done this. Drunk experimenting in college was a long time before, but the idea behind it didn't change. Aaron licked the head again when he saw another drop of fluid rising up from Spencer's slit. Aaron used his grip on Spencer's hand to transfer one to his hair and the other to his shoulder. He wanted to make sure that Spencer didn't hurt himself.

Aaron licked up Spencer's cock as he waited for Spencer to get himself set. Aaron didn't care if he came in his pants, but he wanted Spencer to stay in what he was in so that meant not messing up his underwear and pants.

"Aaron, wait," Spencer gasped, and Aaron looked up at him. "You don't have to do this."

"I want to. Can I?" Aaron felt one of the two Dæmons bump into the back of him before the other did as well. They both trotted into the bedroom and Aaron wouldn't be shocked if he found them both curled in the bed when he and Spencer finally made it in there for Aaron to shower.

"Yes, just don't feel like you have to."

Aaron didn't respond to that other than to lick at the head of Spencer's cock again. Spencer curled his fingers into Aaron's hair and held on tight as Aaron finally took the head of his cock into his mouth. Spencer shuddered and tried not to thrust into Aaron's mouth. Aaron knew that part of it was not wanting to choke Aaron and the other part not wanting to hurt his knee. Aaron didn't even try finesse with what he was doing. He sucked and gagged, making noises that were not dignified but given the noises that he was pulling out of Spencer, he didn't care about his dignity. It had no place in a relationship like this. It had no place anywhere in a relationship that wanted to last.

Spencer cried out as he came, thrusting into Aaron's mouth like he couldn't stop himself. Aaron gentled his sucking, but he didn't stop until Spencer tugged on his hair. Aaron followed that tug up, kissing neck when he got to it before pressing a closed mouth kiss to Spencer's lips. Spencer made a pouting noise before he licked at Aaron's lips. Aaron took that as he wanted into Aaron's mouth. Aaron let him. Spencer's hand dropped from Aaron's shoulder down to his hips to pull him in.

"I can't get on my knees for you, but you can rub off on me until we get back from the date and those things can be done in bed."

"Bed sounds good," Aaron said, and he let Spencer dictate how fast and hard he wanted Aaron rutting against him. Aaron didn't hold off on the orgasm that washed over him. He didn't stop kissing Spencer as he did it though, he just kept on kissing. Aaron didn't stop kissing until the feel of his release in his shorts had him wiggling in discomfort.

"Go shower. I'll poke around the upstairs. Get my two-cent tour alone."

"Oh, I'm sure that Kara will give you a tour."

"No, she's asleep."

"Asleep, how do you know that?" Aaron forced himself to start to push off of Spencer and walk down the hall. He did indeed find Kara asleep on the bed with Kiri curled around her. They looked comfortable on the bed. Aaron had bought the biggest bed that was on the market; it was marketed for those who had large Daemons. "Huh."

"I could feel contentment from Kiri. She's only like that when she's asleep with Kara."

"They are rather cute."

"They are, and they make me want to nap." Spencer yawned.

"Why don't you? I'll join you for a short one and set my alarm for half an hour after I get into bed. It won't hurt as I have no plans today."

"Neither do I." Spencer started to strip down to his undershirt and boxers before he crawled into bed. That was the kind of trust and intimacy that Aaron hadn't had with Haley until a year after they had married, and he and Spencer had only sort of had sex. It was years of working together, though. Spencer got up to where he could lay his head on Kiri's leg, and Kara moved to where Spencer couldn't roll off the bed. It was adorable and cute, and Aaron really wanted to take a picture, but he would refrain. At least for now.

* * *

The bullpen wasn't as silent as Aaron thought it would be. He knew that Spencer had left early in the morning, kissing Aaron awake and telling him that he needed to go and get ready to head into work. Aaron just hadn't equated that with Spencer being at work already. Spencer had his computer playing something classical, but there was something strange about it. Spencer was at his desk with his leg propped up under the desk.

"There is a report on your desk that I think you will want to read before you read anything else," Spencer said as he turned his head to look at Aaron with a smile on his face. There was a little bit of worry in his eyes though as Aaron approached his desk.

"Why don't you let me see the version that you have?" Aaron asked. He knew that Spencer would never read the one on Aaron's desk, so there had to be one on his.

"Your therapist is a busybody with no life." Spencer handed over a report that had his therapist's logo and signature on it. There was also a copy of the form that was needed to be filled out when two agents on the same team with one of them being above the other that is necessary to be signed by Aaron and Spencer. There was a post-it on Spencer's that said the original was on Aaron's desk. It was signed by Strauss; which Aaron was unsure on exactly how that was going to play out even though really, she could do nothing. They had not been back at work yet. Aaron also read through the file that talked about how much more open Aaron had become since he had started going on dates with Spencer, how much happier he was. Aaron frowned and looked at Spencer. "There is also a copy on Rossi's desk."

"Well, he is the most senior agent besides me so he would be the one taking over your evaluations and such. I did not know that she would be doing this. I am sorry."

"Don't be sorry. It's not like it's pasted all over the bullpen walls. It's something that only the three of us have, but I was going to talk to you this morning about telling the team. I can't not tell them."

"I agree. Why don't you get yourself set up in the round table room and we will join you when we are all here. You can use it as much as you want. The other teams won't mind if they have a briefing and you sit in, and you know it."

"Sure. I keep hitting my knee on the desk." Spencer reached under the desk and then Aaron heard a weird little groan that he had heard once before. After his shower, the night before and he had got into bed. Kiri had made it when she had been stretching in the bed. A few seconds later and she came out from under the desk, giving herself a shake before trotting toward the stairs that led up to the round table room that would take her past Aaron's office. Kara followed behind, nipping at her hind legs twice before going even with her and bumping into Kiri. Kiri shoved her back, and they both made little noises like laughing before they were gone into the round table room.

"Looks like I lost Kara for the day." Aaron was smiling, though. After living with Finn for as long as they did, Aaron was used to Kara just not spending time with anyone. Finn hated Kara, but Aaron had always assumed it was Haley's jealousy over Kara being in Aaron's life, which had always struck him as strange as Aaron never felt that way about Finn. Kara had been all that Aaron had for a long time. He had protected her with all that he was to make sure that his father didn't abuse her, taking the punishments and making sure that Kara never came around to stop them. Aaron had never wanted Kara to feel that or himself to feel his Dæmon being hurt by his father. Kara had hated Aaron for it for a while until Aaron's father had finally died.

"She'll come back. I think that she missed Kiri. I know that Kiri missed her."

Aaron was about to open his mouth to speak, but Dave entered through the glass doors, so Aaron stopped and turned to look at his friend. Max was right behind him, strutting in like he owned the place, which Max had always done. The peacock was perfect for Dave, and it always had been.

"Oh, thank God, I won't have to keep on coming in early. It's very, very good to see you both." Dave walked right up to Aaron to shake his hand and give him a gentle hug. After he was done, he turned to Spencer and held out his hand for a shake. Spencer shook the hand and endured the other hand that clasped on his shoulder. Dave was a hugger, but he had changed what he did for Spencer.

When Dave let go, Spencer stood up with the help of his cane and started for the round table room. Aaron saw that he had a stack of files with a note on them for Aaron to carry them up to him when he had the chance. Aaron picked them up and carried them with him to his office. After he set everything down in there, Aaron went to the room to give the files to Spencer. He found that Max was standing in the doorway to the round table room looking down at where Kiri was under the table, and Spencer's leg was propped up on her. If he hadn't seen it the night before while they had tried to extend the foreplay some before falling into bed for sex, Aaron would have been a little affronted, but he had heard Kiri berate Spencer until he did it. It was very evident that Kiri loved Spencer with a burning passion.

"Here you go," Aaron said.

Spencer opened his eyes up where his head had been leaning back against the back of the chair that he was in. He gave Aaron a big smile and nodded his thanks. He pulled a pen from his suit pocket and started to work on the notes on the note pad for the first file that he opened up. Aaron looked around for Kara and found that shew as curled around Kiri, helping to give her a little more height to allow Spencer's leg to rest at the right position.

"Do you still need to do a mid-day walk?"

"Yes. I was planning on doing it at lunch if no case came up. Kara has already offered the both of you up for sacrifice." Spencer was grinning as he said in, in direct contrast to the files that were in front of him and the gruesome images.

"Good. I was going to offer it anyway."

The rest of the morning was filled with the team arriving and welcoming Aaron back. Aaron told them to stay away from Spencer for the moment as when the whole team got there, they would go in and say hello. JJ and Garcia had been put out about that, but Morgan and Prentiss just agreed and went to their desks. Anderson was the last to arrive, he had been filling in on the team while Aaron and Spencer had been gone and Aaron wanted to include him in this.

"Anderson, please join us in the round table room," Aaron called out as Anderson walked through the glass doors.

Anderson stopped, and the look on his face said that he thought he was in trouble. It was kind of comical, and so Aaron let the laugh inside of him bust out. That really scared Anderson, but he walked up into the round table room. The others followed him. Aaron was the last inside, and he saw that Kara was nowhere to be seen, and Kiri was curled in a tight ball under Spencer's knee.

"I don't think I've ever seen Kara do that," Morgan said as he pointed at Kiri.

"I'm not Kara," Kiri said as she stretched out to her full length before getting out from under the table. Kara though did jump right under there and wiggle under Spencer's leg to prop his knee up some.

"Then, who are you?" Garcia asked, and she acted like she wanted to get close to pet her. Garcia had that issue, and while it was taboo, Garcia usually didn't follow that.

Kiri grew in size, and her fur started to raise up. Aaron reached out and pulled Garcia back from Kiri. Morgan gladly took hold of her once she was in range and pulled her back to be with the rest of the team.

"Raikiri," Aaron said as he dropped to his knees in front of her.

"Hotch, man." Morgan sounded worried. "Don't."

"I'm fine, Morgan."

"Kara," Spencer said.

Kara slipped out from under Spencer's leg and moved to rub against Raikiri. The Dæmon though still only had eyes for Garcia. Electricity started to build in the air around them.

"Hey, pretty girl, it's okay. Remember I would never let anything happen to you or to Spencer," Aaron said as he walked on his knees close enough to Kiri to where he could pet her. As soon as Aaron buried his fingers in her fur, Kiri turned to look at him for a second before she rubbed her face into his.

"Shit," Prentiss said.

"Hello, everyone. I would like you to meet Raikiri. If she likes you, she'll answer to Ri." Spencer was looking at little lost, having as many people around Kiri that knew that she was there. Aaron could understand the feeling.

"What if she doesn't like us?" JJ asked.

"She will ignore you, no matter what you call her. She's Raikiri when she's in trouble. Ri is the most used name, and Kiri is just for me, and now Hotch as Kiri likes him a lot."

"Like Human-like Dæmon, huh?" Dave asked. There was a smirk on Dave's face that Aaron wanted to kind of rip off.

Kiri shrunk down and ran up Aaron's arm to settle on his shoulder, the size of a large robin. Aaron stood up and let her look at the team.

"I know that I know what she is I just can't think of it," Prentiss said. She stepped up, blew a kiss at Kiri.

"Hello, Prentiss."

"Hello, Raikiri. Oh. Raiju. Raikiri for the lightning. No wonder we never saw you. Sleeping in Reid's belly button, huh?" Prentiss laughed as she spoke and shook her head before looking at Spencer who had Kara near in his lap. He was petting her. Aaron was not shocked that Prentiss figured out what Kiri was. Prentiss and Spencer hung out a lot doing the geek and nerd stuff. "Well, if that isn’t a perfect way to tell us."

"I've come to find out that Kara and Kiri are best friends. I'm sure that a lot of the time when Kiri wasn't on Spencer, she was hanging out on Kara somewhere." Aaron settled down at the table beside Spencer, on the side that Kara was not on. Kara was like a sentry at his side. Protecting Spencer from the team even though Kara had never feared a single of the team before.

"I can understand why you've kept her a secret as long as you have, Reid," Dave said as he sat down in his usual spot at the table. "Kids with strange Dæmons usually get bullied a lot. Throw in your intellect, and all your brain does, it was a perfect storm for a lot of abuse."

"There was some when I was young, and we hadn't learned to hide as well as she can by now."

"Kara was muttering about a Ri," Dave said, and he looked at Aaron and down at Kara before looking at Kiri on Aaron's shoulder. "When she was sleeping on Aaron's bed after surgery. How Ri saved them."

"I ripped Foyet's throat out," Kiri said.

"Okay, a reminder to us all that no one pisses off the fox," Morgan said.

"You would do well to remember that, Agent Morgan. I can travel across lightning. I felt Kara's fear as we are close, and I traveled across some heat lightning in the area, killed Foyet, and then went home the same way. I do not allow my family to suffer."

"Yes, well...just remember don't touch her. She really doesn't like it." Spencer tried to break the silence that came after Kiri's admission. There was little to be done for that though, as the team just stayed silent.

Aaron figured it was up to him to break up the silence. "After such a long absence, I want to meet with each of you today for a few minutes to talk about things that might have changed while I was gone. I want to go over your current file to make sure that Dave hasn't missed something that you need to do. We should not have a case come up today as JJ has kept me appraised of all consults that have made their way across her desk the last few days. Reid has most of the ones that could turn bad, and he'll send those in as he gets them done. First, we are going to discuss work, and then we will discuss a few other personal things."

Looking at the file he had brought with him, Aaron gave a nod to JJ.

"While you were gone, Hotch, we realized that there is a new position that is needed. While I can easily handle the consults and figure out which ones we need to go on and which ones we don't, I don't have a person that I funnel those off to. The world is getting crazier as it gets fuller of people. So, Morgan, Rossi, and I sat down and hashed out some things and then Rossi had a meeting with Strauss. We have a lead profiler, and Morgan stepped into that role, but that doesn't help with the piling up consults. So, we now have a position of lead consultant. During the work week when we are here, nothing much changes except for the fact that Reid will be upset that he won't have as much time for cold cases. By that I mean he'll handle about ten more consults than normal as after talking to Prentiss and Morgan I realized that between them slipping Reid files and him stealing some when he was bored, he was doing most of them anyway. His workups from cases are usually done in the first hours after getting home so it won't affect that and when Reid is in the field, we have Anderson who is going to step up. Each BAU team will have a lead consultant and Anderson and another person to be appointed by you soon, will take over for where they are lacking."

"Don't I get to agree or not to this?" Spencer asked, but he was grinning.

"Yes, of course, but I figured you would say yes. Anderson has also offered to step in and take a few each day to make up for the cold cases you work on as well."

"Aww, thank you, Grant."

"You are welcome. I'm not really going to miss going out into the field. I like the consults, and I don't mind continuing to do them. I'll also be stepping up and helping JJ with the picking what the teams work on when she is gone, elevating cases to other teams as needed if I see something troubling. JJ's been training me on that."

"He's also fully trained to be the media liaison if I am out again," JJ said.

"You have been busy over the past six months," Aaron said. He looked at the files and saw the smaller changes that had been made. He would go over it more in detail.

"And the personal stuff?" Morgan asked. His eyes darted to where Kara was still with Spencer, and Kiri was with Aaron.

"Spencer and I have started a relationship while we were on medical leave."

"It's about damned time," Dave said.

Aaron looked at Dave sharply. Morgan started to laugh a little bit.

"What?" Spencer asked.

"Look you two have circled each other since that trip you two went on that custodial for Hardwicke. When Reid was sick after Anthrax, Hotch, you were there the whole time. I was there when he woke up, but you were there to make sure that he stayed where he was supposed to. He stuck to his breathing exercises because of you. You two have always been too close for what would be normal, but we all saw it but knew that there was nothing to be done except let you two get closer in your own time. Even if we wanted to shove you two in a closet and not let you two out until you had started to kiss. I almost did it once. When you two were both after things from the storage closet."

Aaron looked at Prentiss, JJ, Garcia, and even Dave seemed quite happy about what was going on. Aaron had worried, but looking at Spencer's face, he knew Spencer had no such fears. Aaron had known that going into today. Spencer had not feared the reactions of the people they called friends, and Aaron had thought him a little naive. Now though, to see the smiles on their faces, to see the happiness that was there. There was nothing to fear from their friends.

The only fear left was Jack and Haley and her reaction to Aaron having another male as a lover. Aaron didn't think that Haley would be happy that she had not been replaced with a woman. She would not like that she had been replaced with anyone.

* * *

"What do you mean that you have a partner?" Haley asked. She was stirring her iced coffee with the straw.

Aaron had wanted to meet in public, and Jessica had been happy to watch Jack while Haley and Aaron met. The coffee shop that been Haley's pick. Aaron would have preferred a park or somewhere that they could think that they were alone. Yet, Haley wanted to meet at one of the busiest coffee shops near Aaron's apartment.

"Well," Aaron said as he rubbed at the back of his neck. He picked up his coffee and took a sip. He flinched at the heat of still, but he had forgotten to ask for the kid's temperature when he had ordered it so he would have to live with the heat for now. "I think that both he and I are a little too different for the term boyfriends. Lover is too private of a term. Though he might like beau better. I haven't asked him what he thinks that we are in respect to terms."

"You..." Haley sat back in her chair and looked at him. She looked around the room and then back at him. "You had been pretty open with me about your sexual leanings, especially after we got back together after a break in college. I just...I didn't realize that you were looking at anyone. Seeing anyone. Jack's never mentioned him."

"It's very, very new and while Jack has met him, it's all been in a work capacity. The relationship is very, very new, like I said."

"You are nervous," Haley said. She reached across the table and touched Aaron's hand. Aaron rolled it over so she could lay her hand in his. "You don't have to be. The therapy that you kind of forced me to go to, to be a better mom to Jack without our issues, making me make you fight to see him helped me a lot. I went back for a few sessions alone. I really like her, and I have changed in a lot of ways. I've seen how I was during our divorce and the lead up to it. I was wanting you to pass on a letter to JJ. I was not kind to her during the divorce when I couldn't get a hold of you. I wanted to apologize."

Aaron watched as Haley dug into her purse and pulled out a letter. She handed it over, and Aaron slipped it into his briefcase. He had a few files to work on that night, so he was keeping it with him. The overhaul that Morgan, Dave, and JJ did while Aaron was away was going to make sure that Aaron got more time with Jack, which was good as that would mean that Aaron could spend some with Spencer and not feel bad about that.

"So, when do we get to meet him?"

"Well, he's mentioned that he wanted your blessing and that was what this was, me to beg you not to keep Jack from me."

"I-" Haley stopped, and she looked away from Aaron out the window and sighed. Finn jumped up onto the table before walking across to lick at Aaron's hand that was holding Haley's. It felt weird to Aaron, so it had to feel strange to Haley as well, but she didn't do anything. Finn stared at Aaron for a few seconds before he rubbed on the side of their joined hands like a cat. It was the most affectionate that Finn had ever been to him and he allowed it for a few seconds before he separated his and Haley's hands and laid his hand on Kara's head. "I know that I was very upset with you for a very long time and I had to figure out where that anger was coming from. You were never going to be what I wanted you to be and that I thought that I could change you was stupid on my part. I fell in love with you when you were a child, no matter that we were teenagers, we were still doe-eyed and thought that love could change the world. Or at least you."

"Not everything was you. I took the FBI job without consulting you, and that did change your life a lot."

"But you had been in the BAU for a while before we had Jack and I knew exactly what you were like with that job when I agreed to try to have kids. I put too much of my happiness on you, and I took it out on you when I wasn't happy. I also did not let you talk about the job at home, which meant you had no outlet for it. I made the divide between your job and us. We had a lot of issues. I got angry; you kept your mouth shut to not start more fights. There is more than enough blame to go around. So, let's put that all behind us."

"Sure." Aaron felt really good about this. Haley looked happier, and she looked a lot better than she had in a long time.

"So, bring him around at some point. I would love to meet him and get to know him as your beau. If Jack meets him first, that's okay. I understand. You love Jack, and you would never do anything that would harm him and never let anyone around him that would do him harm."

Aaron was nodding agreement when the door opened up, and Aaron saw that Spencer was walking into the coffee shop. Aaron almost got up to get him, but he stopped because Kiri was right beside him, the size of Kara. Aaron had seen her more and more out about, but that was at work and on cases, in the month and a half since he and Spencer had come back to work. This was the first time that Aaron had seen her out when the team wasn't around in some way, shape, or form. Aaron didn't get up, he didn't react at all, and he kept a hold of Kara.

"Aaron?" Haley looked around and saw Spencer. Aaron saw the look of recognition come over her face, and she turned to look at Aaron. "I didn't think that his Dæmon was that big. You said that he kept it hidden that one time at the bar."

"Yes, well I've come to find out that Raikiri can be as big or little as she wants."

"That's at very different Dæmon than I have ever seen. Much like your Kara." Haley turned back to look at Kara and then up at Aaron. Her face softened. "So, I guess I'll get to meet your beau today, huh?"

"What?" Aaron asked as he turned to look at Haley. She had a very soft smile on her face. "I'm sorry. I didn't hear what you said."

"I said 'I guess I'll get to meet you, beau, today huh?'"

"Oh." Aaron felt the blush creeping up on his face as Kiri walked over to the table to brush against Kara. She nipped at Aaron's hand where he was holding onto Kara's fur, so Aaron let go.

"Hello, Raikiri," Haley said.

Kiri turned around to look at Haley. There was a lot of emotion on Kiri's face, and Aaron wasn't sure if any of it was good or not.

"Hello," Kiri said. She dropped out of sight, and Haley near lunged across the table until Kiri crawled up into Aaron's lap, the size of Finn. "Hello, Finn."

"Hello, Raikiri," Finn said back. The Poodle looked at Aaron and then down to Raikiri. Finn almost looked jealous.

"Hello, Aaron," Spencer said he walked up to the table. His eyes darted around the area they were in, looking for threats to Kiri.

"Hello, Doctor Reid," Haley said as she stood up. She reached out to shake Spencer's hand, and for a few seconds he looked like he might not shake it, but then he reached out. The shake was quick.

"Hello, Miss Hotchner." Spencer looked down at Raikiri. "You know that we are leaving right?"

"Why don't you join us? Aaron and I were just discussing you. I would love to talk to you more."

"If I am not intruding," Spencer said.

Aaron scooted in on the seat that he was sitting in. He patted the seat beside him. Spencer waited for Kara to move before he sat down. Kara laid her head down on his thigh as soon as he was settled. Finn crawled over into Haley's lap, disappearing down below the table, laying in Haley's lap.

"You are very much, not intruding. Aaron was just telling me about you actually. About your relationship and we were going to make plans for you and Jack to get to know each other, as well as you and I. Aaron, had not actually said your name yet. Kara knew the moment you walked in the door, and Aaron seconds later. Your two Dæmons are very in tune. Much more than any other Dæmons I have seen. It's nice to see Aaron smile some. I haven't been able to make him smile for a long time, and he needs it."

Spencer looked at Aaron a little unsure of things. It was a bit nice to see as Spencer had been so sure of himself in Aaron's eyes and to see he was not faking that before now was good. Aaron reached around Spencer and got his arm between Spencer and the seat, a hand on his hip to pull him close. Spencer only resisted for a few seconds before he let himself be tucked into Aaron's side.

"So how are you two settling being back at work after being gone for so long?"

"I'm just finally off of the cane, and while I still can't go on busting down doors, I will be allowed out of the station house for more than just canvassing dump and kill sites." Spencer set down his cup, and Aaron looked inside of it. Spencer had popped the top of it and had a stir stick inside of it. He started to swirl the liquid and Aaron saw that it wasn't coffee but tea, slightly milky tea. Aaron reached over and took the stir stick from Spencer's hands and took a lick of it. It was a dirty chai. "Want me to get you your own?"

"No, I just wanted to see what you had. I don't think I've ever seen you get one of those."

"I get them on occasion when I want the spice. I love chai lattes. I just don't always get the espresso shot in them as I don't like the way it changes the tea flavor all of the time. Today, I needed a little pick me up on the coffee front, but I didn't want a full espresso drink." Spencer leaned his head over to brush his nose across Aaron's cheek. It was a straightforward form of affection but one that Spencer did a lot. Aaron kind of liked it. It was not that attention drawing but still made Aaron feel good.

"You two are cute," Haley said with a smile on her face.

Spencer ducked his head and looked at his cup of chai. He was blushing, and Aaron squeezed his hip. Spencer looked kind of adorable with that reaction.

"So, it's your weekend with Jack, as long as no case comes up. I think that maybe it's time for Jack to meet his father's beau as his beau."

"Oh, I like that term," Spencer said. He sat up a little straighter and picked up the tea to take a drink.

Haley gave Spencer a big smile.

"Why don't we all go ahead and get something to eat. I like the stuff here, but it's mostly small style food, and I'm famished. I'd like to get to know you, Spencer, as Spencer and not Doctor Reid."

"Um, sure. I didn't really have any plans. I was just walking around and looking at shops. I took the bus here." Spencer's eyes darted at Aaron, and he smiled at him. "I was planning on seeing if you were free tonight."

"I am after we have an early dinner with Haley."

"Then you can pick up Jack and start the weekend on Thursday night. I've had a few boyfriends, nothing long term but Jessica has had one that was, and Jack knows about the people that adults have over during the night for adult sleepovers."

"Oh, that's good that you introduced that. With you and Aaron divorced, it's easy for kids to get forgotten about when it comes to significant others of the pairing."

"Yes, that's what Jessica said when she had Jack one weekend while I went away with a boyfriend. So how about steak?"

Aaron knew the exact place that Haley wanted to go to, and it was a favorite of their back when they had been married.

"Steak is always great," Spencer said. He didn't seem uncomfortable at the idea so Aaron wouldn't put his foot down. The thought of picking up Jack along the way back as well had Aaron a little excited. Spencer had been the one to not want to push things with Jack too far too quickly. He would come and hang out for a while one day of the weekend that Aaron had him but never progressed to more than that. The thought of Spencer and Jack staying the night was really good. Aaron was looking forward to that.

* * *

"So, Spencer is staying the night?" Jack asked as Aaron opened the door to the apartment. Jack had been quite happy to see that Spencer had been in the car when Aaron had picked him up from Jessica's. Jessica didn't look that shocked so Haley must have texted her to warn her, so she didn't make a scene. Though Jessica was not the one to make a scene.

"Yes, he's staying the night."

"But your other bed really sucks. Like that time that Jessica watched me at your place before you got home from that one case. You made her sleep in your bed."

"Well, Spencer is going to sleep in my bed, at the same time that I am." Aaron shut the apartment door once Spencer was inside. Jack was turned around and looked at Spencer and then at Aaron and back and forth.

"You mean I get my Christmas present early?" Jack asked.

"What?" Aaron asked back a little shocked.

"You and Spencer hang out a lot, and you make him happy, and he makes you happy, and people who make each other happy should be together. So, when Mommy and I sat down to write my letter to Santa, it's what I asked for."

"It's not even Halloween yet," Aaron protested.

"No, but Santa would need a lot of time to get the two of you together. Spencer is very stubborn, you've said that a lot, Daddy."

Spencer started to laugh at that. He jumped when something darted around him, though. Aaron saw it out of the corner of his eye. Aaron frowned because Kiri was on his shoulder yet the Dæmon that darted around the three of them looked a lot like Kiri but more wolf-like. Aaron crouched and waited to see if it would stop. The Dæmon stopped right in front of Aaron, sitting on its hind legs and looking up at him. It very much was a Raiju but a wolf Raiju not a fox one like Kiri.

"Oh, hello," Aaron said.

"Kiri likes to play with Rai."

"Rai, huh?" Spencer asked as he dropped down his ass very carefully. Rai trotted over to rub against Spencer's knees a little.

Jack's Dæmon had never chosen a name or let Jack pick one for her. Jack was still young for Rai to settle, but the name would stick. It was also a little early for the Dæmon to settle, but it seemed that maybe Rai had settled.

"You told me what kind of creature Raikiri was and I really liked it, so Mommy bought me a kid’s book about Japanese myths and legends, and she read it to me. Rai hasn't changed since then, a wolf-like Daddy and a Raiju like Kiri."

"What about your mom?" Aaron asked.

"Mom had a dog, dogs are kind of like wolves. Even if Finn isn't. Can I go play, please?" Jack asked. His eyes were darting back to his bedroom.

"Yes," Aaron said.

Jack took off with Rai on his heels. It was cute as hell. Aaron looked at Spencer to see him looking at Kiri with a raised eyebrow.

"What? He's a kid. I like playing with the kids. He's Aaron's kid so it's not like I could ever, ever hurt him."

"What?" Aaron asked.

"Raikiri has been playing with Jack for a very long time it seems. Kiri can travel bigger distances from me than normal Dæmons. I used to leave her to watch over Mom while I went to school when I was still in Vegas. Then she would check on Mom daily while I was at Caltech. So those times she's been slipping away from me throughout the day and night, she's been coming here to play with Jack or to Jack's house. I wouldn't be shocked about that."

"It's okay. She's right that she would never hurt him. I know that. You know that. Just calm down." Aaron wasn’t sure what was upsetting Spencer, but he didn’t want to screw up and say the wrong thing, so he waited to see what Spencer said.

"I'm not upset. I'm just shocked that my Dæmon has been able to keep that from me for as long as she has, and that Jack didn't spill the beans on it the day that he met Raikiri."

"Jack knows how to keep secrets that don't hurt anybody. He and I had a long talk about it several times over. Like with little Jimmy down the road. His father was touching him in weird places, so I talked Jack into having Jimmy tell the schoolteacher."

"Jack told me about that," Spencer said with a look on his face that said what he wanted to do to Jimmy’s father. Aaron agreed to it as he felt the same. It was why he had Jack talk Jimmy into going forward.

Aaron looked out at Kara, who was stretched across the couch. Aaron wondered if that was another secret that Kara knew that she had kept from him. It seemed like their Dæmons were trying to run their lives. Aaron wasn't that upset about it. He figured that he should be, but he wasn't that upset.

"So, what are we going to do this evening?" Spencer asked.

"Jack will have to have dinner, and I'll make him macaroni and cheese or something like that. We can snack on it or something like it as we both know we ate too early to not get hungry before bed. Jack will play in his room for a little while. So, I was thinking about a snog on the couch."

"Snog? Really? And what kind of British book have you been reading?" Spencer stood up and walked toward the couch, lifting Kara's legs up and settling under them.

Aaron loved that. He loved Spencer but hadn't said the words. It was there between them, and Aaron knew that they both felt it they were just unsure of how and when to say the words. For now, it was fine. For now, it was good. Aaron walked to the kitchen to get them both a glass of tea. Kara would move when Aaron got back into the room to allow Aaron to sit on the couch. Their first date had been good, hell every single one that followed had been great even if sex didn't come before or after. Though the smaller forms of intimacy, sexual or not, were slow in coming.

Walking back into the living room, Aaron saw that Spencer was standing and looking at the books on the shelf closest to the couch while Kara and Raikiri were nowhere to be seen. Aaron had not realized that Kiri had left his shoulder at any point. Aaron set the drinks down on the end table before starting to sit down on the couch. Spencer was there in front of him like he moved faster than Aaron could see. Aaron blamed that on his scattered brain. Haley being pleased with Aaron's choice in beau and then Jack was very, very happy that Spencer was staying the night, Rai settling into a mythical creature it had been a very stressful day for Aaron so far. He was looking forward to doing as little as possible besides kissing Spencer.

Spencer straddled Aaron's legs before he started to sit down on his knees. Aaron watched his face for any discomfort. Sex was still relatively gentle with Spencer's knee, and while Aaron had been on top the whole time, he wasn't the only one doing the penetration. Spencer would lay on the bed and allow Aaron to ride him when Aaron wanted to try that as he had been unsure of his knee, taking the weight of his body. There was no twinge of pain on Spencer's face as he settled fully onto Aaron's lap.

Aaron settled his hands onto Spencer's hips, pulling him in just a little more to where their chests brushed against each other. "So, this is how you want to do this?" Aaron asked.

"Yes."

"Fine with me," Aaron said just a second before he surged up a little to take Spencer's mouth in a kiss. Spencer's arms wrapped around Aaron's neck and he submitted to the kiss with fervor. Aaron worked his hands under Spencer's shirt, touching skin and making Spencer shiver when he raked his nails down his back at one point.

Aaron didn't know how long they stayed like that, kissing hot and heavy before settling down into soft shared kisses and back again. It was perfect, just being with Spencer like they were. Though something was a little off to Aaron. He pulled away from Spencer's mouth, using a hand on the back of Spencer's head to hold him still. Aaron looked around before he saw Jack standing in the hall between the bedrooms and the living room. Kara, Kiri, and Rai were standing behind him.

"Jack, do you need something?"

"I was just coming out to get something to drink. I didn't want to interrupt you."

"Never worry about that," Spencer said as he slid from Aaron's lap and onto his feet slowly. Aaron watched as Spencer tested his knee before putting his full weight on it. "Let's get you something to drink." Spencer held out his hand to Jack, and Jack came running to snag it and head into the kitchen.

The rest of the evening passed quickly, and dinner was a very sedate affair. Aaron found that he was happy when Spencer was engaged with Jack. He didn't feel left out; he didn't feel jealous that Jack's attention wasn't on him or Spencer’s. Though that could be because he had three Dæmons sitting on him in one way, shape, or form.

Aaron still read Jack his bedtime story. Spencer had listened to part of it before walking away. So, Aaron wasn't sure what he was going to find when he entered his bedroom. He found Spencer laying on the bed with the blankets up over him. He was reading a book. Aaron shut the door and locked it. That conversation had happened during dinner. Jack was reasonably good about knocking before entering, but he knew that if the door was locked unless it was super important, he didn't need to knock as Aaron and Spencer were busy.

"Hello," Aaron said as he turned back to Spencer after locking the door.

Spencer closed the book he was reading and rolled over onto his back. He stretched and kicked at the blankets some. Aaron saw a bit of pants-less leg kick out, and he realized that Spencer was naked under the blankets.

"Hello." Spencer crooked a finger at Aaron and beckoned him closer. Aaron grabbed Spencer by the back of the head and pulled him up to where he was on his knees before he kneed onto the bed to kiss him. "I want to ride you."

"Shit," Aaron said. He looked at Spencer's face and then down, seeing that he was already hard.

"Get up on the headboard," Spencer demanded.

Aaron slipped off the bed to strip down to nothing before he did so. Spencer scooted forward, lube already in hand. Aaron watched as he slicked up the palm of his hand and reached behind himself to slick up Aaron's cock. Spencer smelled like he was fresh from a shower.

"You are going to kill me, you know, that right? Being demanding for my cock."

"I've wanted to do this since the first day that you did it to me. Feeling my body controlling the pace, the burn and stretch of you entering me." Spencer held Aaron's cock still as he pressed down onto it. Aaron had not seen Spencer finger himself at all.

"Spencer," Aaron warned, but Spencer already had the head of Aaron's cock inside of him.

"I played with myself when I showered while you were reading to Jack. I was bored, so I shoved my fingers inside and got me nice and loose. Then I dried off and got ready by slicking myself up." Spencer threaded his fingers through the back of Aaron's head and tipped his head back to where Spencer could kiss him while slowly sliding down his cock. It felt like it took ages for Spencer to get all the way down on his cock, to where their legs were pressed together. Spencer stayed like that kissing Aaron hard and deep.

Aaron didn't even try and stop Spencer's rhythm as he rocked up and down on Aaron's cock. It felt too good, so all that Aaron did was grip Spencer's hips to pull him down that little bit more on the downward stroke. Spencer's free hand tweaked at Aaron's nipples in a maddening pattern that had Aaron nearly ready to orgasm long before he really wanted to and then Spencer stopped moving altogether as he was pressed down on Aaron's cock. Aaron growled and tried to pull up on Spencer's hips, but the man just stayed where he was. Aaron let go of one of Spencer's hips and grabbed at his hair like Spencer was holding his and he did get their mouths apart.

"Tease," Aaron whispered into Spencer's face.

"You don't want this to last longer?" Spencer asked.

"No. I want you to keep on going until I come," Aaron demanded.

"I can do that, Sir," Spencer said with a smirk on his lips.

Aaron grabbed Spencer's throat next with his free hand, keeping his eyes locked with Aaron's as he started rocking again.

"You are a cheeky little fuck, aren't you?" Aaron asked. He let his hand trail around and then down Spencer's back, and the scraped his nails over skin as he brought it around to brush with the back of his hand across Spencer's cock. "Though not so little in some ways, huh?"

"Aaron," Spencer breathed as Aaron started to stroke his cock lightly.

"How much do you want this?" Aaron tightened his hold just a little on Spencer's cock, let the callouses from his gun be really felt by Spencer. Aaron had learned that Spencer liked that early on. It only took a single swipe of his thumb over the slit of Spencer's cock for Aaron to feel his muscles clamp down on Aaron’s cock as he came. Aaron kept on stroking Spencer, swiping at the head of his cock every upstroke until Spencer hissed a little.

Aaron tipped Spencer back on the bed, grabbing his legs and wrapping them around his waist, making sure that he didn't hurt Spencer in the process. He thrust back into Spencer, angling, so he didn't hit his prostate that much. When Aaron had the rhythm that he wanted, he leaned over his lover. Spencer looked worn out, too many emotions during the day so Aaron worked himself hard and fast inside of Spencer to come quickly.

Spencer kept Aaron right down on him, even after Aaron had slumped over from the rush of orgasm leaving him. Spencer was like an octopus most of the time after sex, he wanted to cuddle. Though was also like that when they didn't have sex.

"I love you," Spencer whispered across Aaron's cheek, just low enough that Aaron almost didn't hear it.

Aaron pushed up to where he was looking down at Spencer. There was not a look of fear on Spencer's face, but there was something there. Hope, regret, anticipation, all mixed into a weird little look.

"I love you too," Aaron said back to Spencer. He reached out, balancing on one arm, to brush at the fringe of sweaty hair on Spencer's forehead before he leaned over and kissed it. He kissed Spencer's eyes where they closed from the first kiss. Then down to Spencer's cheeks before softly kissing his mouth. Aaron leaned up to pull Spencer's legs from around him. He kissed at the scars that were there on Spencer's knee and leg from the surgeries that he went through. Spencer kissed Aaron's scars all the time, making Aaron not be ashamed about them, by calling them what they were badges that he had lived.

Spencer waited for Aaron to let go of his leg before he sat up, pushing Aaron up as well. He leaned into a kiss before pulling Spencer after him into the shower. Aaron liked the showering afterward, Spencer was always very touchy, and Aaron could get away with touching as much as he wanted. He was just thrilled that Kara and Kiri didn't like to join them in the shower. It was alone time. By the time they were done though, Kara and Kiri would be on the bed and waiting for them to lay down. It was always nice, and Aaron hoped that one day soon, Spencer and Raikiri would stay with them forever.

# The End

**Author's Note:**

> I write fanfiction for fun. It's a hobby and a stress relief. I refuse to stress over my writing. What you see is what you get. Errors, plot holes, and all. Thank you for reading my story!
> 
> I can be found on MeWe (a FB replacement that's better) [here](https://mewe.com/i/beccaqueen1), join me there and we can discuss my fics and whatnot. My writing page for the moment is kind of dead in the water on a FB front as links are being banned for content.


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